Chapter Text
---Rover’s POV, Morning, Rover’s House---
???: “..-ke up….*blur*”
Male Rover: “Mmm……” I groaned at hearing the blurry noise during my sleep, but I went back to sleep again. But I’ve been deprived of it as I hear the door open.
Female Rover: “Bro, wake up! We’re gonna be late for school!”
Male Rover: “*groggy* Leave me alone.” Then I hear an angry grunt coming from my dear twin sister. And she pulls me on my legs, forcing me to wake up as I get dragged outside my room.
Male Rover: “What the--! Let me go sis!”
Female Rover: “If you won’t get up and go to school, Kuro is not gonna like that you’re still skipping classes!” I keep on squirming as she continues to drag me. I even tried to grab unto the door handle but she effortless drags me away.
Female Rover: “No matter what you must go to school today. Otherwise, we would be in trouble for contract breaching. So, come on, damn it! I’ll have to do everything to keep our contract intact, might as well give you a shower and dress you up right now!” A sudden memory flashes through my eyes as she mentioned giving me a shower.
Male Rover: “Alright, for f**k’s sake! I’ll get ready!”
After that, I did my usual morning routine: take a shower, wore my uniform for school, eat breakfast and brush my teeth. Our chauffeur is just waiting on us to get ready so he could drive us to school. Yes, my family, well, just my sister and I, have a chauffeur because of us being celebrities after being debuted as Wuthering Waves’ main characters. Usually, I didn’t care about safety protocols and just use the train to get to school, but this time around, it looked like I needed this. Now, on the way to school, my sister talks to me.
Female Rover: “Bro, today could’ve been your 4th day skipping classes after 2.5 got released. And the backlash towards us, well, mainly you, could’ve been much worse if you don’t appear to school today, both academically and professionally.”
Male Rover: “I don’t want to talk about this again, sis.”
Female Rover: “Whether you like it or not, whether personal or not, you still must go. You have a reputation and it’s not gonna go any better if you keep this up!” I understand that much.
My work and reputation are on the line after the main story questline of v2.5, but it’s not because of how the game itself, but because of my actions. Even before v2.5 came out, the acting/shooting and rehearsal surrounding the main story v2.5 has made my emotional and mental fortitude is on an all-time low. Nevertheless, I must do what is required from me. And yet, the slightest inch of emotional strain is still creeping behind me.
Female Rover: “Are you still that hung over her?” My sister hit the nail on the coffin.
Male Rover: “…” I refuse to answer. I have this conversation already with her, I don’t need to tell her twice. Even if she is my twin, there are some things that she and I can’t understand about each other. This is only one of the many instances. And to be honest, whatever I’m currently dealing is mostly none of her business. Yet again, whatever is happening to me is also affecting my work-life balance. The ride remains silence on my end as I block out any stimulus that reminds me of her.
---University Entrance---
Male Rover: “Oh boy. This is why I don’t wanna go to school.” I noticed from the front of my university gate that there are people watching as our car arrives to the entrance. I was about to open my door until my chauffeur coughed.
Chauffeur: “Ahem! I’ll open the door for you.” I forgot that this one of the protocols that my family got conditioned on due to our fame and status as celebrities. Frankly, I don’t care about such things and want to act like a regular person. Hell, I could drive my own motorbike to school if I feel like it. Our chauffeur opened the door towards my sister’s side.
Chauffeur: “Have a nice day at school, you two.” Our chauffeur bid us farewell and went back to our place. What I see around me is what I expected at this time: looks of contempt. When v2.5 came out, there were a lot of tweets/comments/posts around various social media that view me, especially, as someone who shouldn’t be earned respect after the main story. While I shouldn’t regard mostly what anonymous people say about me, but this quest, feels very personal as the vile opinions align with hers. Of course, I take a bit of relief from those who defend me, or even us both, but I can’t help it but get it into my head.
Female Rover: “Let’s go.” My twin sister dragged me towards to the entrance by grabbing my wrist. Then I hear some people screaming towards us.
Mob#1: “You stabbed her and let her drown!”
Mob#2: “Heartless scumbag! Have you no pity for her?!”
Mob#3: “You saved Shorekeeper but can’t save Phrolova!? What a hypocrite!”
Mob#4: “L Rover!”
Mob#5: “Phrolova deserved better!”
Then the various complaints and screaming continues towards our direction. I look at my twin sister and she seem unfazed, while I’m the one who is possibly most affected by this.
Male Rover: “Why are you so calm about this?”
Female Rover: “Huh? Haven’t you seen my tweets? I tweeted a short video with Phroro (Female Rover’s nickname for Phrolova based on Japanese pronunciation) indicating we’re still friends and good as f**k.” I checked my phone and go to her X(Twitter) page. I see a short video of her and Phrolova.
The video went like this: Female Rover approached Phrolova who was taking a break from shooting, and Phrolova was pouty when she Female Rover and looked away. Female Rover says “Yurushite.” with a cutesy voice, and Phrolova looks back at Female Rover flicking her head and the device Female Rover was holding; with Female Rover making a small whimper. Phrolova says “You’re eating one of my honey cakes after this.”, then Female Rover was hesitant and she laughs it off, agreeing to Phrolova’s condition. Female Rover then flipped the phone to showcase both Female Rover and Phrolova with V signs which it ends there.
Male Rover: “So, you already made peace with her, huh?”
Female Rover: “Well, that is just to protect both of us from the backlash from the story since I knew it would gain some traction. You, on the other hand…” I became pissed on what she said and pushed her aside so I could get in the campus. But when I scanned my ID, and it says that I need to go to the Probation Officer. Short summary: they just warned me not to be absent more than 3 days from now on or my units taken this term will be marked as ‘Failed’.
Male Rover: ‘I’m letting my emotions and mental state take over too much but balancing both is so difficult. Oh, whatever.’ I exit the Disciplinary Office and head to my first class of the day, and…I got myself surrounded again by mobs of students, sending barrages of condescending messages. I block them out by putting my headset and playing Come Alive by San-Z. All of a sudden, I was thrown objects by some students, in which I avoided them by making small movements. However, they increased the intensity that I had to resort to extensive movements, but I did learn martial arts due to the extensive scenes I have to make while shooting my action scenes. Sadly, there’s one object that’s heading straight towards my face, which I can figure to be a pocketknife.
Male Rover: ‘Shit! Without my sword, I can’t deflect that!’ Despite my ability to defend myself, most of my battle experiences focused more on taekwondo and mixed of kenjutsu and kendo. I keep my focus on the knife, then I see flashes of someone, with whitish green hair. I return my focus back to my surroundings and. I see someone with whitish green hair and light purple accents on low, braided twintails in front of me.
Male Rover: “…Phrolova.” There she is. The one who will not wait anymore. The one who is against the Rover. One of the Rover’s mortal enemies, Phrolova. Well, that’s more in the game’s story, at least. In our real life, one could say…that it’s not too different.
Phrolova looks at the thing she caught and inspected it before closing it. She also looks at the mess that is surrounding me, then turns towards me with her left eye as her left is bandaged as usual. I hear many footsteps coming towards our direction. And the ones who came are staff from the security and disciplinary offices.
Phrolova: “That person, him, him, him, her, and especially that one.” When Phrolova pointed to the last person, she pointed at him with a noticeable voice of spite. She also gave to one of the staff the pocketknife she caught, and the campus staff took away the people Phrolova accused. I also just noticed that were other students who are recording this ordeal. Phrolova stomped her left foot and faced towards the mass.
Phrolova: “I know some of you have been recording but don’t stop! I will only tell this once and I don’t care if you post it in social media! If anybody attempts to hurt my colleagues, co-workers, friends and family, in any shape or form, you will face judgment! Like those six I have accused, you will go down a point of no return. I do appreciate you all for supporting the game myself and the Rover are in, but I will not appreciate if you place harm upon anything and anyone due to our game! It’s not worth to disregard or discard what you have because you became too emotional from our acting in the story! Now, if you excuse us…” She faces back towards me and grabs my elbow as she drags me.
Male Rover: “Phrolova! What’re you doi—”
Phrolova: “You’re gonna get failing remarks. Surely, you don’t want Kuro to fire you over this, right?” Well, she’s right. But…
Male Rover: “Unhand me! We’re not on the same class this morning.” I shrugged myself off Phrolova, as I walk towards my classroom.
Phrolova: “Hmm, so cold and unfriendly.” I look back towards her and she had a solemn face, which makes me a bit guilty.
---Lunchtime---
After the first bunch of classes, I went to lunch with three guys I usually frequent with during lunch.
Male Rover: “I knew I shouldn’t have gone to school today. Classes are boring and a mob of angry players are after me due to the recent main quest in Wuwa.”
???(Male#1): “Although I would agree on that classes are boring, I wouldn’t want you fired over this one, Rover. We have that kind of strictness on my contract as well with Hoyoverse.”
Male Rover: “At least the conditions on your end are much easier than mine, Aether.” Aether just leans his head slightly sideways.
???(Male#2): “I’d rather say that all four of us have our own challenges to deal with.”
Male Rover: “At least your game is very much identified as a gooner game from the gacha community, and you embrace it as much, Phaethon.”
Wise: “But at least, it ain’t as gooner compared to Blue Archive and Nikke.”
Male Rover: "So you do acknowledge it!" Wise scratches his cheek. Then we hear loud slurping from the fourth one on the table. Aether hits him on the back of his head with a chop.
Aether: “Nephew! Don’t start eating without us!”
Wise: “You might as well listen to what Rover has to say first, Caelus.” Caelus swallows what he’s chewing and retorts back.
Caelus: “We can listen while we eat you know, and our food is gonna go cold. Although, you didn’t seem to have much food there, Rover.”
Male Rover: “I don’t feel like eating that much, Caelus.”
Wise: “You gotta eat more though.”
Male Rover: “Funny coming from the guy who has abs but low stamina.”
Aether: “Wise is right, though. You’ve been looking much skinnier than you were a month ago.”
Male Rover: “I’m fine. Just been having a reflection, that’s all.”
Aether: “One that has gotten you thinner than usual? Then that’s not healthy at all Rover.” I can only sigh. In the group I’m in, Aether is seen as the oldest brother as he is first of the four of to be debuted. Caelus is seen as the immature one despite being the second one to debut, and he’s also Aether’s nephew despite their close age gap and physical attributes. Wise, as I could describe, the next person that has vast knowledge and intelligence, like an almanac. He was the last to debut among us four, but he and I debuted the same year with only a few months gap. While Aether’s words come from experience, Wise’s come from only his observations.
Wise: “I noticed that you didn’t go to school in the past few days. As I recall, last week was the debut of v2.5 on Wuwa, yes? Is your current condition linked to that?”
Male Rover: “…”
Male Rover: ‘Ahh, Wise. I wish you don’t read much into my mind.’
Aether: “I haven’t done the quest yet, so I don’t really know what happened much within the Wuwa community.”
Wise: “So have I. But please, Rover. If there’s something that you want to tell us that you can’t tell others, then turn to us. We’re your friends.” Then Caelus placed his chopsticks on his plate, and unexpectedly, he spoke up.
Caelus: “Rover, I always look forward to our lunch meets as this group, all four of us, are the same. Despite the differences our companies have, I’m glad to have someone from a different company than Hoyo to be in this circle. I know that I’m usually silent when we gather, but that’s because I was listening to you three, to gather more insight despite me earlier on debuting. It’s hard enough for people like us to find friends from outside our workplace, even our respective circles. And I, we…consider you as our friend. So, let me be direct, Rover. This is about Phrolova, isn’t it?” The moment Caelus said her name; I stood up shook.
Male Rover: “H-How did you k—” I stopped talking as some people have turned towards me due to my initial shock which raised my voice. I sat back down.
Aether: “Caelus, you know something?”
Wise: “Phrolova. Isn’t that the girl from the Fractsidus faction?” Caelus looks at Wise with an affirmative look.
Caelus: “Yes. And I can’t tell more if you haven’t done it yet.” A few seconds of silence passed by before I spoke up again.
Male Rover: “How did you know?”
Caelus: “I’m the type of player who wants to get with the story first before I get to the other events. Considering the duration of HSR’s main quest, I’ve gotten used to the grueling 7-9 hours per version on a quest. And sometimes, the exposition done by the HSR devs is so repetitive that it numbs my brain. I may be daft, but I’m not dumb. I’ve seen the main quest of 2.5, and it was very good. Unspoken emotions, visual cues, and hell: the white text on a black screen had way more emotion to it. I’d say it’s a bit better than Phainon’s story. ((This is the author’s opinion.))” Somewhere in the cafeteria, I hear a sneeze. And we all face towards that direction before continuing.
Caelus: “Rover, I feel something deeper within the confines of the story. Would you please tell us what’s been bothering you?” I just sigh.
Male Rover: “Not going to lie, Caelus, you’re the last one I would expect to ask me about this. You’re usually naïve but for once you think ahead of your peers.” I contemplate about whether I should let them know about my past.
Male Rover: ‘I’m not sure if it’s a good to let them know my history with Phrolova. I promised myself that whatever happened between us is mine to keep, but not to Phrolova herself. And I trust these guys, but this is the first time I will be transparent to someone in which I haven’t done yet with my twin sister. I know this is unfair for everybody related to this, but one way or another, I need to get this out of my chest as this affects me both personally and professionally.’
Male Rover: “Fine. We’ll talk about this tomorrow. I’d want Aether and Wise to view the quest and see what kind of quest it is, and I want them to form their own opinion about it. Is that alright?” All three of them nodded.
Chapter end.